Giving to the Good and the Needy: Parental Support of Grown Children

Analysis of demographic variation and childhood correlates of financial well-being across 22 countries

Using nationally representative data from 202,898 participants in the Global Flourishing Study, this work examines factors associated with financial well-being across 22 countries. We investigate how demographic factors-including age, gender, marital status, employment status, education, religious service attendance and immigration status-are correlated with financial well-being (as assessed through four dimensions). Additionally, we analyse associations between recalled early-life conditions, such as parental marital status and childhood health, with financial well-being in adulthood. Our findings reveal cross-national differences in levels of financial well-being and its demographic correlates. Early-life conditions were also consistently associated with adult financial well-being, although these associations varied substantially across countries. These results suggest that understanding financial well-being should encompass both current sociodemographic factors and early-life experiences within the unique cultural and socioeconomic contexts of different populations.

I love you no matter what: Negative relationship quality and daily encounters in the parent-child tie and their implications for daily mood across the lifespan

Parent-child relationship quality has critical implications for parental emotional well-being across the lifespan. The present study assessed how relationship quality is related to daily encounters between parents and children, how those encounters are linked with parents' mood, and how these associations vary by age. Participants (N = 129, ages 33-91) reported baseline relationship quality with a total of 337 children (ages 1-69). In ecological momentary assessments, participants reported encounters with their children and their mood every 3 h for 4 days (N = 2220). Analyses revealed that relationship quality was not associated with whether parents had contact with their children. More negative relationship quality was positively associated with unpleasant encounters and negatively associated with pleasant encounters with children. Pleasant encounters with a child were associated with a more positive mood regardless of relationship quality. Unpleasant encounters were associated with a more negative mood, particularly when parents had a more negative relationship with their children. These associations varied significantly by age. Parents were more likely to have contact with more irritating adolescent children than less irritating adolescents and were less likely to have unpleasant encounters with children in emerging adulthood compared to childhood. Older parents' moods were not as strongly associated with unpleasant encounters, though the likelihood of experiencing unpleasant encounters was more closely tied to relationship quality for older parents than younger parents. These findings have important implications for understanding the relationship between family conflict and emotional well-being across the life course.

How Intergenerational Estrangement Matters for Maternal and Adult Children's Health

Objective

We compare maternal and adult child health outcomes across 1) estranged (i.e., no contact, or low contact and low quality), 2) socially positive (i.e., high quality, moderate to high contact), and 3) socially negative (i.e., high contact but low quality) maternal-adult child relationships.

Background

We develop intergenerational resource, crisis, and strain theories to test the link between socially positive, socially negative, and estranged maternal-adult child dynamics and the health of both generations.

Method

Regression models of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79 and NLSY79-CYA) data compare self-rated health and CES-D scores across maternal-adult child relationship types (N = 2,609 mothers; 5,590 children).

Results

Mothers with estranged ties report poorer health relative to those with socially positive ties. The health of adult children with estrangement exposure is similar to those in socially negative ties, and those with socially negative ties have worse health relative to socially positive ties. However, estranged adult children's mental health is not statistically different than those in socially positive ties. Family-level analyses incorporating siblings suggest that for mothers, an estranged/socially negative tie with any child is associated with worse self-rated health; for adult children, one's own maternal relationship is more consequential than the sibling context.

Conclusion

This study has implications for research and theory on the health cost of socially negative and estranged intergenerational ties.

Beyond the Nest: The Role of Financial Independence in Young Adult Health

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to examine the impact of neighborhood conditions and household material hardship experiences on young adult health outcomes, while also considering financial autonomy as a critical determinant of health.

METHOD

We employed a cross-sectional observational design with a diverse sample of young adults from a large urban university. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between neighborhood conditions and material hardship with health outcomes by financial autonomy.

RESULTS

Material hardship and neighborhood conditions were significantly related to various health outcomes among young adults. Food insecurity emerged as a significant mediator linking neighborhood conditions to health including global physical health, cognitive functioning, and depression. Financially independent young adults showed stronger direct and indirect effects of neighborhood conditions on health compared to financially dependent counterparts.

CONCLUSION

This study underscores the complex interplay of neighborhood conditions, household material hardship, and financial autonomy in shaping young adult health. Our findings also suggest how the impact of SDOH on young adult health may have long-term effects later in life. Future research should consider these factors comprehensively to address disparities in emerging adult health.

Changes in social relationships from 26 to 34 years of age in adults born very preterm

BACKGROUND

Very preterm and/or very low birthweight (VP/VLBW; <32 weeks' gestation and/or <1500 g birthweight) individuals rated their partner and peer relationships lower than term-born individuals in emerging adulthood, but their quality of relationships with parents has been rarely investigated. Moreover, it is unclear whether previously reported differences in social relationship characteristics persist or lessen from emerging to established adulthood.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate changes in social relationship characteristics in VP/VLBW adults compared to term-born adults from 26 to 34 years and whether the association between VP/VLBW and social relationship characteristics varies according to sex.

METHODS

In this prospective whole-population birth cohort study in South Bavaria, Germany, social relationship characteristics with parents, partners and peers, and overall social relationships across these domains were evaluated with a Life Course Interview at 26 and 34 years. Interview items related to these domains were extracted and scored as 0 (optimal) and 1 (non-optimal). Each score was summed into domain-specific composite scores and standardised according to the total sample.

RESULTS

Participants included 262 VP/VLBW (52.7% males) and 230 term-born individuals (47.0% males). VP/VLBW adults had lower overall social relationship scores than term-born adults (β = -.61, 95% CI -0.85, -0.37). Specifically, partner (β = -.50, 95% CI-0.74, -0.27) and peer relationship scores (β = -.55, 95% CI-0.78, -0.32) were lower than those of term-born adults, but scores did not differ for parent relationships. On average, partner (β = .25, 95% CI 0.14, 0.35) and peer relationship scores increased (β = .16, 95% CI 0.03, 0.29), while parent relationship scores decreased (β = -.64, 95% CI-0.79, -0.49) from 26 to 34 years. These changes were similar for VP/VLBW and term-born individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

Patterns of change for the improved partner and peer but worsening parental social relationship scores were common across VP/VLBW and term-born adults, but differences between the two groups persisted from 26 to 34 years.

Worrying Across the Generations: The Impact of Adult Grandchildren's Problems on Grandparents' Well-Being

OBJECTIVES

The intergenerational stake hypothesis and theories of the life course posit that older generations are invested in the well-being of younger generations. Consistent with this, previous research has shown that adult children's problems are associated with worse parental well-being. Because multigenerational ties have become increasingly important in the 21st century, we propose that adult grandchildren's problems may also impact grandparents' well-being. In this paper, we test this hypothesis and investigate the moderating effects of grandparents' race and maternal/paternal status.

METHODS

The analytic sample includes 206 grandparents aged 65-95 who participated in the second wave of the Family Exchanges Study. Adult grandchildren's problems were operationalized as the proportions of adult grandchildren who experienced (1) physical-emotional problems and (2) lifestyle-behavioral problems.

RESULTS

Main effects multilevel analyses suggested that adult grandchildren's problems did not predict grandparents' well-being. However, moderation analyses revealed that the association between grandparents' depressive symptoms and adult grandchildren's physical-emotional problems was larger among Black than White grandparents, and maternal than paternal grandparents. Adult grandchildren's lifestyle-behavioral problems did not predict grandparents' depression, and these effects were not conditioned by race or maternal/paternal status.

DISCUSSION

These findings expand research on the importance of grandparent-adult grandchild relationships and contribute to research on multigenerational relationships and health by considering how problems experienced by members of younger generations affect the psychological well-being of older adults.

Who receives support during pregnancy? Variation by intendedness

Social support makes a vital contribution to health and life outcomes, particularly during the transition to motherhood in young adulthood, an often-challenging experience. Women should have the right not only to bear children but also to raise them in a secure environment, which is often aided by support. This study gives attention to how pregnancy intendedness contributes to pregnant women's receipt of support. Using novel data from a weekly survey of 18- to 22-year-old women over two and a half years, I investigate how intendedness is associated with the receipt of support and how support types vary throughout pregnancy. This study reveals new insight into the beginning trajectories of young mothers and highlights variation in the provision of support within social networks. Women with intended pregnancies are less likely to receive social support during pregnancy compared to those with unintended pregnancies. A lack of support may impact the health of both mother and child.

Within-Family Differences in Intergenerational Contact: The Role of Gender Norms in a Patrilineal Society

Intergenerational contact is important to older adults' quality of life, but less is known about within-family differences in older parents' contact between sons and daughters, especially in countries with patrilineal traditions. Applying latent profile analysis to data on 3,228 Korean older adults' frequency of meeting and communication with each of their children, this study identified within-family patterns of intergenerational contact. Nearly half of parents exhibited gender-balanced patterns of meeting across children, while 13% reported "more frequent contact with daughters" and 39% reported "more frequent contact with sons." On the other hand, "equally high contact" (77%) was the most common pattern for communication. Multinomial regression results showed that the derived patterns were differentiated by parents' education, marital status, region, economic satisfaction, health, and depressive symptoms. The results highlighted the enduring nature of patrilineal traditions as well as the differing patterns of contact that Korean older adults have with their children.

Social inequality in the association between life transitions into adulthood and depressed mood: a 27-year longitudinal study

Background

Few studies have considered the life-course development of depressive symptoms in relation to life transitions in early-adulthood and whether these might affect depressive trajectories differently depending on specific indicators of parental socioeconomic status (SES). In the present work, we explore these questions using the adolescent pathway model as a guiding framework to test socially differential exposure, tracking and vulnerability of the effects of life transitions on depressed mood across different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Methods

Latent growth modeling was used to estimate the associations between indicators of parental SES (parental education and household income) and depressed mood from age 13 to 40 with life transitions (leaving the parental home, leaving the educational system, beginning cohabitation, attaining employment) as pathways between the two. Our analyses were based on a 27-year longitudinal dataset (n = 1242) of a Norwegian cohort with 10 time points in total. To make socioeconomic comparisons, three groups (low, mid, and high) were made for parental education and income respectively.

Results

Depressed mood decreased from age 13 to 40. The low and high parental education groups showed a stable difference in depressed mood during early adolescence, which decreased in young adulthood and then increased slightly in mid-adulthood. The low household income group showed higher depressed mood across young adulthood compared to the medium and higher household income groups. For life transitions, leaving the parental home and beginning cohabitation was associated with an added downturn of the trajectory of depressed mood when adjusting for other transitions. However, adolescents with high parental education showed a relatively stronger decrease in depressed mood when leaving the parental home. Similarly, adolescents with a high household income showed a relatively stronger decrease in depressed mood when leaving the educational system.

Conclusions

Depressed mood decreased over time and developed differently depending on parental education and household income. Life transitions were generally associated with reductions in depressed mood across time, but lower SES youths were not found to be more socially vulnerable these effects.

Beyond Parental Wealth: Grandparental Wealth and the Transition to Adulthood

This study considers the multigenerational consequences of wealth transmission for the transition to young adulthood. Using a wider set of outcomes than has previously been considered, and by analyzing parental and grandparental wealth simultaneously, this work underscores the salience of multiple generations of wealth as a predictor for young adult well-being. Data comes from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics on a sample of youth followed from mid-adolescence until the age of 20. Results from linear regression models indicate that parental wealth was associated with increases in the probability of college attendance and steady employment and inversely associated with the likelihood of nonmarital birth and idleness. Grandparental wealth predicted non-educational outcomes at least as well as parental wealth did and explained more variance in young adults' outcomes when parental wealth was lower. The association between parental wealth and non-educational outcomes suggest that wealth may inform young adults' broader life course by predicting outcomes other than college attendance. Grandparental wealth may serve a compensatory function for children with low parental wealth. Results suggest that persistently low wealth across multiple generations may impede the successful transition to young adulthood.

Why LGBTQ Adults Keep Ambivalent Ties with Parents: Theorizing "Solidarity Rationales"

Many LGBTQ adults have ongoing relationships with their parents that are ambivalent, typified by both solidarity (e.g., frequent contact, emotional or financial exchange) as well as conflict (e.g., parents' heterosexism and cissexism). Yet, why LGBTQ people remain in-rather than end-their ambivalent intergenerational ties is underexplored. We analyze qualitative in-depth interview data with 76 LGBTQ adults to answer this question. We find that LGBTQ adult children deploy narratives that privilege intergenerational solidarity over strain-what we call "solidarity rationales"- to explain why they remain in their ambivalent intergenerational ties. Four solidarity rationales were identified: 1) closeness and love, 2) parental growth, 3) the unique parent-child role, and 4) the importance of parental resources. Identifying LGBTQ adults' solidarity rationales pulls back the curtain on the compulsory social forces driving persistent intergenerational relationships. This study also advances our thinking about how socially marginalized people cope with complex social ties that include interpersonal discrimination and stigma.

Does the Economic Status of Adult Children Influence Self-Rated Health Among Older Adults in China?

OBJECTIVES

We aim to investigate the association between children's economic status and parents' self-rated health and examine the potential mediating mechanisms for this relationship.

METHODS

Utilizing nationally representative data in China in 2014, this study predicted parent's self-rated health from children's economic status using inverse probability of treatment weighting to account for selection and endogeneity bias. We further examined depressive symptoms, kin and nonkin social support networks, emotional closeness to children, and economic support from children, as potential mediators of this relationship.

RESULTS

The study reveals that parents whose children had greater economic success tended to have better self-rated health. For both rural and urban older adults, depressive symptoms served as the most influential mediator. However, only among rural older adults did the size of their support networks mediate the relationship between children's economic status and perceived health.

DISCUSSION

The results from this study suggest that children's economic success contributes to better self-rated health among older adults. In part, this relationship was explained by better emotional well-being and greater availability of support resources among parents in rural areas with successful children. This quasi-causal analysis demonstrates that adult children remain important for the well-being of their older parents in China, but also suggests that health inequalities in later life are exacerbated by the chance of having economically successful offspring.

Children's Transitions to Adulthood and Midlife Parents' Depressive Symptoms and Activities of Daily Living Conditions in the United States

BACKGROUND

Parents and children are close over the life course. However, these relationships often change as parents age and children enter adulthood. Today, the entrance into adulthood for children has become delayed and increasingly unstable. Such changes may interrupt the child's acquisition of resources used to support themselves and their midlife parents, having implications for parents' mental and physical health. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of adult children's transitions to adulthood on parents' mental and physical health.

METHODS

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and the Add Health Parent Study (AHPS), we investigated how certain transitions to adulthood (e.g., education, marriage, residential independence, employment, parenthood, and incarceration) for children were linked to the mental and physical health of their midlife parents.

RESULTS

In sum, we found that children's educational attainment was linked to fewer activities of daily living (ADL) limitations and depressive symptoms among parents. Children's marriage and employment were also associated with fewer ADL limitations among parents.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings reveal that adult children's circumstances are associated with the mental and physical health of their midlife parents.

Activities of Daily Living Needs and Support in Adult Child-Parent Dyads

This study examined whether changes in middle-aged children's perceptions of their parents' activities of daily living needs (ADL needs) were associated with changes in the mutuality of support in their relationship. A group of 366 middle-aged children in Waves 1 (2008) and 2 (2013) of the Family Exchanges Study self-reported providing and receiving tangible, emotional, and informational support to and from their n = 468 parents. Increased perceived parental ADL needs were associated with increased provision of tangible and informational support to parents but not with changes in support received. Increases in perceived parental ADL needs were associated with higher incongruence for all three support types (the child providing more support than they receive).

Adult Children's Education and Mothers' Psychological Well-Being: Do Adult Children's Problems Mediate This Relationship?

OBJECTIVES

A growing body of literature documents a positive association between adult children's education and older parents' health, and existing studies have identified social support, social influence, and material transfers as factors linking adult children's education and various dimensions of older parents' health. The present study joins this literature by assessing adult children's problems as mechanisms that may underlie disparities in psychological well-being between mothers whose adult children have completed higher and lower levels of education.

METHODS

Using 2 waves of longitudinal data collected in 2001-2003 and 2008-2011 from 400 mothers aged 73-85 years at the second wave as part of the Within-Family Differences Study, we examine the role of adult children's problems in mediating the association between adult children's education and mothers' depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Mothers with children who completed post-high school education reported fewer depressive symptoms than mothers whose children all completed high school or less. We found evidence that this relationship was mediated by the proportion of adult children who have experienced physical and emotional problems in the last 5 years.

DISCUSSION

This study underscores the importance of considering how resources and risks that affect well-being accumulate both across the life course and across generations. Providing education opportunities to younger generations and enhancing programs that address challenges that low-attaining children may face have the potential to help minimize socioeconomic disparities in psychological well-being among older adults.

Becoming Financially Self-Sufficient: Developing a Need-Supportive and Need-Thwarting Scale for Financial Parenting of Emerging Adults

The shift in the parent-child relationship during the transition to adulthood presumes that emerging adults progress toward financial self-sufficiency. Research indicates that financial parenting contributes to success in this transition, and these effects extend beyond the financial domain. Nevertheless, there is a lack of theory-based tools to measure relevant financial parenting aspects. By applying the six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors outlined in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the current study develops a scale targeting the interpersonal style of financial parenting. To validate the scale, it also tests seven preregistered hypotheses predicting internal structure and associations with relevant external variables in a sample of 600 emerging adults (M_age =24.94, SD_age = 3.03, range 19-29 years; 52.3% women). The sample, diverse occupational status characteristics, was recruited from an online survey panel using the controlled quota sampling strategy. While study results provide modest evidence for a hypothesized six-factor structure and advocate instead for a more parsimonious two-dimensional one, results provide evidence for the new scale's convergent, discriminant, criterion, and incremental validity. This is the first study that brings SDT into family financial socialization research and opens a new line of research on family financial socialization, achievement of financial self-sufficiency, and emerging adults' wellbeing.

Work-family conflict, financial issues and their association with self-reported health complaints among ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to quantify the degree of work-family conflict (WFC) and financial issues among ready-made garment (RMG) workers in Bangladesh and to investigate their potential associations with self-reported health outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 1118 RMG workers in labor colonies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in February and March 2021. Descriptive analyses were performed to characterize WFC (i.e., family life disturbing the job or facing problems in family due to the job) and financial issues (i.e., savings, debt, financial obligations, financial support). We ran multivariable Poisson regression models to examine possible associations between WFC and financial issues and workers' health (self-reported general health and 10 specific health complaints).

RESULTS

We found low levels of WFC, low levels of savings, moderate levels of debt, and high levels of financial obligations: virtually all workers agreed they had to keep their job to financially support their spouse, children or other relatives. Only about a third of workers expected they would be able to receive financial support in case of a job loss. Work-family conflict was positively associated with poor health but not consistently with specific symptoms. Financial support was negatively associated, whereas being indebted was weakly positively associated with poor health.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest low levels of WFC among RMG workers but high levels of financial obligations. Work-family conflict was positively associated with poor health, but not consistently with specific symptoms. Being indebted was weakly positively associated with poor health. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Disentangling the Long-term Effects of Divorce Circumstances on Father-Child Closeness in Adulthood: A Mediation Analysis

Many studies have shown that the relationship between nonresidential fathers and their children in youth has a lasting influence on their relationship in adulthood. Comparatively less is known about the process through which divorce affects father-child relationships. We assess if and how the divorce circumstances of interparental conflict, the presence of new partners, and geographical distance between parents affect nonresidential father-child closeness in adulthood. Using a path model, we test whether father-adult child closeness is mediated by fathers' involvement after divorce. The results of this study demonstrate that the level of interparental conflict and the presence of a fathers' new partner after the divorce negatively affect the closeness between fathers and children in adulthood. Our mediation analysis demonstrates that both the effects of interparental conflict and new partnerships on closeness are partially mediated by father involvement and contact frequency during childhood. In other words, it is partly through the negative effect that interparental conflict and new partners have on fathers' involvement that fathers and children become less close later in life. Our study highlights the importance of disentangling the effects of different factors associated with divorce when examining nonresidential father-child relationships.

Black and White Young Adults' Support to Midlife Parents

OBJECTIVES

Prior research suggests that midlife adults in Black and non-Hispanic White families differ in support patterns to aging parents. It is unclear whether such racial differences exist in young adulthood. We examined Black and White young adults' support to their midlife parents and underlying mechanisms to explain within-racial group, family-level differences.

METHOD

Young adults (aged 18-30; Black n = 107 and White n = 351) from the Family Exchanges Study 2 reported how often they provided tangible (practical) and intangible (emotional support and advice) support to each parent. Participants also reported beliefs about obligation to support parents, rewards from helping, and parental needs.

RESULTS

On average, Black young adults provided more tangible and intangible support than White young adults. Feelings of reward predicted why young adults in some Black and White families gave more support than those in other families. Parental needs explained tangible support in Black families and intangible support in White families. Within families, rewards and parental needs drove Black offspring to give more intangible support than their siblings, while obligation motivated White offspring.

DISCUSSION

Consistent with support patterns evident in older adulthood, Black young adults gave more tangible and intangible support to their midlife parents compared to White young adults. Within-race support patterns were explained by different factors informed by the Multidimensional Intergenerational Support Model. Findings suggest psychological factors contribute to between- and within-racial patterns of exchanges.

Life Satisfaction in Young Adults-The Moderating Role of Parental Support

The transition to adulthood in Western societies, termed emerging adulthood (EA), holds new challenges for family relationships across and within generations. Drawing on Self Determination Theory and Bowens' Family systems theory, this study examines the combined contribution of personal resources and relationships with parents and friends to satisfaction with life among young Israeli adults. It also examines the possible change in parental support that occurs with increasing age. A convenience sample (n = 572) of young Jewish Israeli adults (18-29 years) completed structured questionnaires. Using regression analysis, we modelled the associations between personal and support variables to life satisfaction as well as the interactions between age and parental support. The findings reveal that young women reported receiving more parental support than young men. Commitment to values and beliefs and greater support from friends make a positive contribution to life satisfaction. High parental support impairs life satisfaction as age increases. The study extends Bowens' theory to understand the developmental stage of young adulthood and emphasize on the practical level that therapists need to familiarize themselves with the protective variables at this stage of life and the changing role of parental support.

Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children

OBJECTIVES

Past research suggests that adult children who reform their deviant behaviors (i.e., problems with drugs/alcohol or the law) are more likely to become favored by their mothers, yet the reasons underlying this phenomenon are unclear. This study employs a longitudinal, qualitative approach to explore why adult children's behavioral reforms shape changes in maternal favoritism.

METHOD

Analyses are based on qualitative interview data collected at 2 points 7 years apart from older mothers regarding their adult children in 20 families. Each of these families had a "prodigal child"-a child for whom desistance from deviant behaviors between the 2 waves was accompanied by newfound maternal favoritism.

RESULTS

Findings revealed 2 conditions under which mothers came to favor reformed deviants over their siblings. First, this occurred when adult children's behavioral reformations were accompanied by mothers' perceptions of these children as having grown more family-oriented. Second, this occurred when mothers came to see reformed deviants as exhibiting a stronger need and appreciation for maternal support, relative to their siblings.

DISCUSSION

Mothers' perceptions of children's behavioral reformations as being accompanied by greater dedication to family or reflecting a need for their mothers' support offer 2 explanations for why previously deviant adult children may become mothers' favored offspring. These findings contribute to a growing body of scholarship on the complexity of intergenerational relations by shedding new light on changing patterns of favoritism in families with a history of parental disappointment, conflict, and strain.

Identity Shift: from Javanese Islam to Shari’ah-Centric Muslims in the Trah, a kinship-based social organisation

This article explores how Javanese identity has shifted away from Javanese Islam (kejawen) to a more shari’ah-centric identity. This shift is evident within the trah, a Javanese bilateral decent group or social organisation consisting of generations of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including spouses and subsequent descendants. Long-term observations were conducted in this research through participation in various trah activities and in-depth interviews with trah members. The research found that initially, the trah members were kejawen, namely Javanese who identify as Muslims, but who adhere to Javanese beliefs and ritual practices that have been acculturated into Islamic teachings. Kejawen have a high appreciation of Javanese art and culture as part of their identity. However, trah members began to identify with shari’ah-centric piety, having internalised various aspects of a shari’ah lifestyle that is deemed more Islamic. This shift in identity occurred during the Indonesian political Reformation era which brought freedom of expression. This freedom was manipulated by Islamic activists to fortify political positions and engender a shari’ah-centric identity. The trah has provided a platform for its members – generations of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – to adopt this shari’ah-centric piety.

The Negative Impact of Adult Children's Marital Dissolution on Older Parents' Mental Health in South Korea

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about whether and the extent children's marital dissolution deteriorates older parents' mental health. This study examines the association of children's marital dissolution with parents' mental health, and whether children's gender and intergenerational contact and support moderate such an association in South Korea, where family lives are strongly linked under the Confucian collectivistic legacy.

METHODS

We apply fixed effects models on 15,584 parent-child dyads nested in 5,673 older parents (45-97 years in Wave 1) participating in the four waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), conducted from 2006 to 2012.

RESULTS

In South Korea, a son's transition to marital dissolution is associated with higher levels of parents' depressive symptoms. Frequent parent-son contacts of at least once a week, living with a son, and increasing financial transfers from parents to a son tend to reduce the negative association of the son's marital dissolution with parents' depressive symptoms.

DISCUSSION

The findings imply that a son's transition to marital dissolution, as a later-life stressor, is detrimental to parents' mental health in a patrilineal Asian cultural context. The study also highlights the importance of intergenerational bonding in mitigating the negative impact of children's marital dissolution upwardly transmitted to their older parents.

The roles of mental illness disclosure and disclosure strategies on well-being among college students

ObjectivesTo examine how the degree of mental illness disclosure and disclosure strategies are associated with psychological and physical well-being among college students. Participants: Participants were 181 undergraduate students from two American universities who self-identified as having been diagnosed with mental illness. Method: Participants completed an online survey, which included measures of mental illness disclosure and a range of outcome measures (e.g., life satisfaction, self-report somatic complaints). Results: The degree of mental illness disclosure was positively related to well-being outcomes. After controlling for the effect of the degree of self-disclosure, a direct disclosure strategy was positively associated with well-being outcomes, whereas disclosure strategies involving entrapment, humor, and indirect medium were related to poorer well-being outcomes. Conclusions: Results suggest that the degree of mental illness disclosure and the manner in which individuals disclose their mental illness to others may have implications to the well-being of individuals living with mental illness.

Support Exchanges Among Very Old Parents and Their Children: Findings From the Boston Aging Together Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Very old parents and their "old" children are a growing group in industrialized countries worldwide. Care needs of very old parents can be substantial, while children may also face their own age-related issues. Continued mutual support represents an important pathway to addressing emerging care needs. This study aimed to identify patterns of support exchanges occurring in very old parent-child dyads and to ascertain associated individual and relationship factors.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Participants were 114 very old parents (aged ≥90) and their children (aged ≥65) from the Boston Aging Together Study. Data were collected using comprehensive, semistructured in-person interviews with both dyad members, including standardized assessments of support exchanges, relationship quality, health, and perceptions of family norms. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models were used to predict upward and downward support reported by children and parents.

RESULTS

Both dyad members not only reported substantial upward support (child to parent) in all domains but also notable amounts of downward (parent to child) in the domains of emotional support, listening, and socializing. Findings showed significant associations of parent functional impairment, parent and child relationship quality, and child perceptions of family obligation with upward support and of relationship quality with downward support.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Continued support exchanges among very old parents and their children indicated that intergenerational theories still hold up in very late-life relationships. Health care professionals should be aware that attention to relationship quality and family norms might be vital to ensure that support needs are met.

A new perspective on the generational structures of families - Generational placements over the life course

With data from the German Ageing Survey (https://www.dza.de/en/research/deas), for men and women of the birth cohorts 1939-43, 1944-48, and 1949-53 (n = 2607), the occurrence, timing, and ordering of generational placements defined through the (simultaneous) presence of biological parents, children, and grandchildren up to the age of 60 is examined using sequence and cluster analyses. Cohort, gender, and regional differences are examined with multinomial logistic regressions. Six different typical patterns of individual trajectories were identified, ranging from clusters with multiple transitions early in life to more stable clusters with fewer transitions later on. The most common were three-generation families, while patterns without children were the most uncommon. Across cohorts, generational structures of families changed towards "more stable" trajectories. Clusters characterised by early (grand)parenthood were more likely experienced by women and individuals growing up in former East Germany. The presented patterns of individual trajectories reveal novel detailed insights into how the opportunity structures for intergenerational family support differ between individuals and develop across individual age and socio-historical context.

Coresidence of Older Parents and Adult Children Increases Older Adults' Self-Reported Psychological Well-Being

A multigenerational household is no longer a rare phenomenon in contemporary society. However, relevant literature has focused on elderly parents receiving support from their adult child, thereby coresiding. This is potentially problematic, as both generations could benefit from living together, and little is known about the benefit of living with adult children from older adults' perspectives compared to the risk of this living situation. Previous research suggests a significant negative effect of living alone, e.g., low psychological well-being, and it becomes more salient among single parents, such as widowed or divorced. The current paper utilizes the National Health Measurement Study with a sample of age 55 and over. Their SF-36 Mental Health and Physical Health Component and self-acceptance scores were measured. Path analysis reveals that both physical and mental health and self-acceptance scores are lower among single older adults at the time of the survey (e.g., divorced and widowed) than among those who are nonsingle and living with their adult child. A complete mediation effect of living with an adult child on older adults' mental health and self-acceptance was observed in both White and non-White minority older adults. This suggests that living with an adult child possibly serves as a protective factor for the negative relationship between living alone and their well-being. The current study seeks to stimulate ideas that might generate the following answer to community-based care in our contemporary aging society.

Adolescent Context and Depressive Symptom Trajectories in a National Sample: Ages 13 to 34

Background

Group-based trajectory analyses of depressive symptoms are often conducted with convenience samples, over limited developmental periods, or with a limited set of predictors in the adolescent context. Examinations of protective and risk factors in robust national samples are needed.

Aim

Using an ecological approach, this study's purpose is to identify key relational and contextual factors associated with trajectory groups of depressive symptoms that span ages 13 to 34.

Method

12,248 respondents in the National Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Waves 1, 3, and 4) were analyzed with a group-based, cohort sequential design to identify trajectory classes, shapes, and adolescent (i.e., Wave 1) risk and protective factors for depressive symptom trajectories.

Results

A four-class quadratic solution was identified. Close attachment to parents was strongly associated with decreased odds of membership on elevated trajectories. No relationship with a mother or father was associated with better mental health than a poor relationship with that parent. Peer support, teacher support, and educational achievement were highly protective. Romantic relationships, increased number of sexual partners, and prayer were modestly associated with higher depressive symptom burden. Pregnancy was associated with increased burden later in life relative to the teenage years.

Conclusions

Assessing adolescent family, school, peer, and religious contexts indicates several protective and risk factors for depressive symptoms that are persistent over time.

Do Social Timing and Gender Matter to Parental Depression Aroused by Traumatic Experience of Child Bereavement? Evidence from China

Child loss is a rare but traumatic life event that often has a detrimental effect on parental wellbeing. However, parents' resources and strategies in coping with the stressful child bereavement event may depend on timing of the event. This study intends to examine how parental depression could be aroused by the occurrence and timing of child bereavement, and how the influences vary by child gender. Drawing on the theoretical framework of the stress and life course, and using three waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find that both the occurrence and timing of child bereavement are significantly associated with parental depression in later life. Bereaved parents are more likely to report depression than non-bereaved parents. Child bereavement in children's young adulthood is more likely to spark off parental depression than that occurring in children's midlife or later. Further analysis confirms that the timing effect of child bereavement differs by child gender. Parents whose son died during young adulthood are more likely to report depression than their counterparts whose daughter died. Future studies need to address how to build up a specific social welfare program targeting child bereavement groups in different life stages.

Adult Children's Daily Experiences With Parental Advice: The Importance of Life Problems and Relationship Quality

OBJECTIVES

Parents often provide advice to their adult children during their everyday interactions. This study investigated young adult children's daily experiences with parental advice in U.S. families. Specifically, the study examined how receiving advice and evaluations of parental advice were associated with children's life problems, parent-child relationship quality, and daily mood.

METHODS

Young adult children (aged 18-30 years; participant N = 152) reported whether they received any advice and perceived any unwanted advice from each parent (parent N = 235) for 7 days using a daily diary design (participant-day N = 948). Adult children also reported their positive and negative mood on each interview day.

RESULTS

Results from multilevel models revealed that adult children who reported a more positive relationship with their parents were more likely to receive advice from the parent, whereas adult children who had a more strained relationship with their parents were more likely to perceive advice from the parent as unwanted. Receiving advice from the mother was associated with increased positive mood, whereas unwanted advice from any parent was associated with increased negative mood. Furthermore, the link between unwanted advice and negative mood varied by children's life problems and parent-child relationship quality.

DISCUSSION

Indeed, parental advice is not "the more the better," especially when the advice is unsolicited. This study highlights the importance of perceptions of family support for emerging adults' well-being.

A Scoping Review of the Factors That Influence Families' Ability or Capacity to Provide Young People With Emotional Support Over the Transition to Adulthood

The transition to adulthood is typically marked by changes in relationships with family members, peers, and romantic partners. Despite this, the family often maintains a prominent role in young adults' lives. A scoping review was conducted to identify the factors that influence families' ability or capacity to provide young people with emotional support during the transition to adulthood, and to understand the gaps in this research area. Title and abstract searches were conducted from January 2007 to February 2021 in multiple databases, including PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and Sociological Abstracts. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were also conducted with stakeholders (professionals from relevant sectors/working within this field). In total, 277 articles were eligible for inclusion in the review. Following data extraction, 19 factors were identified. Factors with the most research (more than 20 articles) included: family proximity or co-residence; mental health; sex or gender differences; and family communication. Factors with less research included: societal context; young person's sexual orientation or gender identity; social networks; and adverse life events. Gaps in the research area were also identified, including methodological issues (e.g., lack of mixed methods and longitudinal study designs), a disproportionate focus on the parent-child relationship, and a lack of contextually situated research. Our findings indicate that future research in this area could benefit from taking an intersectional, multi-method approach, with a focus on the whole family and diverse samples.

Taking Diversity Seriously: Within-Group Heterogeneity in African American Extended Family Support Networks

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the correlates of involvement in extended family social support networks among African Americans.

BACKGROUND

Previous literature has documented the importance of informal social support from extended family members for the African American population. Most research has investigated black-white differences in network involvement or has focused on impoverished African American families. Both approaches conceal important within-group variation in participation among the total African American population.

METHOD

This study relied on nationally representative data from the African American sub-sample of the National Survey of American Life (n=3,538). It employed ordinary least squares regression analysis to examine the sociodemographic and family factors that are associated with four key measures of involvement in extended family support networks: receiving and providing extended family support, frequency of family contact, and degree of subjective closeness.

RESULTS

African Americans routinely interacted with members of their family, displayed a high degree of family closeness, and exchanged support fairly frequently. Findings also revealed significant variation in network involvement by sociodemographic characteristics: women, younger adults, and Southerners were typically most involved; individuals who experienced greater material hardship, were previously incarcerated, or served in the military reported less involvement. Results also showed that family closeness and family contact were particularly salient factors shaping the extent to which network members engaged in support exchanges.

CONCLUSION

The magnitude of within-group heterogeneity in network involvement underscores the importance of considering issues of intragroup diversity in the developing literature on African American extended family networks.

Racial Differences in Early Parental Death, Midlife Life Problems, and Relationship Strain With Adult Children

OBJECTIVES

Black Americans typically experience the death of a parent earlier in the life course than do non-Hispanic Whites, and early parental death is known to hinder subsequent relationship outcomes. Whether early parental death may contribute to racial differences in midlife family relationships and the role midlife adults' current life problems play remain unexplored.

METHOD

Using multilevel modeling, we examined how timing of parental death is associated with relationship strain with adult children and whether the association differs by midlife adults' life problems in Black (n = 166) and non-Hispanic White (n = 467) families from the Family Exchanges Study.

RESULTS

Losing a parent in childhood was associated with more relationship strain with adult children for Black midlife adults, but not for their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Among the bereaved, earlier timing of parental death was associated with more relationship strain with adult children only for Black midlife adults. In both bereaved and nonbereaved sample, participants' recent physical-emotional problems exacerbated the link between timing of parental death and relationship strain with adult children for Black midlife adults.

DISCUSSION

Experiencing the death of a parent in the early life course can be an added structural disadvantage that imposes unique challenges for Black Americans in midlife. Policies and programs aimed at supporting bereaved children may benefit relationships with their own children later in life, and addressing physical-emotional problems in midlife may be a viable intervention point for those midlife adults who experienced the death of a parent in the early life course.

How Families Give and Receive: A Cross-Class Qualitative Study of Familial Exchange

Support of family members has been a long-standing interest of social scientists. Contemporary American families must provide support to members in a historical context wherein family inequality continues to rise. Based on the life course perspective, and utilizing qualitative, in-depth interviews with 50 multi-generational participants from the Family Exchanges Study, this article explores the mechanisms through which families across the socioeconomic spectrum engage in and perceive family support. We discuss both direct and indirect requests by family members for help and identify differences by family socioeconomic status. We also discuss how issues of reciprocity, views toward request propriety, and perceptions of appreciation guide family member responses to need. We argue that this cross-class comparison is particularly essential to further scholarly understands of family functioning and support amidst growing inequality in the United States.

Daily Reciprocity and Well-being: A Diary Study of Intergenerational Support between Mothers and Adult Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES

Intergenerational support between aging parents and adult children is important to the well-being of both groups, especially during public health emergencies. However, few previous studies have examined the effects of daily support between parents and children on their well-being during public health emergencies. To fill in this gap, we examined the association between daily support and well-being in mothers and their adult children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Seventy-seven pairs of mothers (aged 44-80 years, M = 53.78, SD = 9.57) and adult children (aged 18-54 years, M = 26.61, SD = 9.46; 19% male) in mainland China participated in a 14-day daily diary study during a 14-day stay-at-home period. All of the participants reported the daily emotional and instrumental support they had given to and received from their mother/child each day for 14 consecutive days. Their daily positive affect and negative affect were also measured.

RESULTS

Receiving more support on a given day was associated with providing more support on that day, suggesting a daily reciprocity. This finding was consistent across mothers and children. A lower level of being under-benefitted on a day was associated with better daily well-being of children, but not that of mothers. Providing support, but not receiving support, was positively associated with mothers' daily well-being, whereas receiving support, but not providing support, was positively associated with children's daily well-being.

DISCUSSION

This study provides evidence of daily intergenerational support during a global public health emergency. The findings shed light on the importance of daily reciprocity and its implications for well-being.

Facets of parent-child relations in adulthood and their role in transmitting economic deprivation across generations

Despite the well-documented effect of parent-child relations in childhood on the reproduction of social disadvantage, little is known about how relationships between parents and their grown-up children are associated with this process. The present study addresses this research gap by investigating whether structural, cognitive, and functional aspects of family social capital in adulthood are connected to the risk of relative income poverty and its intergenerational reproduction. Based on a longitudinal sample from data of the German Family Panel (pairfam), random effects regression models as well as mediation analysis (KHB method) reveal that affectual and structural facets of intergenerational relations in adulthood matter in two ways for understanding the intergenerational transmission of poverty. First, emotionally close intergenerational relations and living in proximity of the parental home in adulthood counterbalance the experience of economic deprivation in childhood by alleviating poverty risks. Second, emotionally and spatially distant relations between adult children and their parents partially mediate the social inheritance of poverty across generations and time. We additionally tested the possible moderating role of migration background but could not find considerable evidence that later-life family social capital matters differently for native and migrant families in predicting the risk of poverty.

Grieving a Grandparent: The Importance of Gender and Multigenerational Relationships

Objective

This study examined adult grandchildren's experience of losing a grandparent in the context of a multigenerational family.

Background

Although the death of a grandparent in adulthood is often an expected life event, this loss may still result in grief for adult grandchildren. Furthermore, bereavement is not merely an individual experience, but a family one. Characteristics of the relationship between bereaved adult grandchildren and their bereaved middle-generation parents may influence adult grandchildren's grief responses. This includes both structural (e.g., gender of parent; coresidence with parent) and emotional (e.g., relationship quality; worry about parent) aspects of this tie.

Method

Young adult grandchildren from Wave 2 of the Family Exchanges Study (2013, N = 204) reported on their recent grandparent loss experiences (N = 216) and relationships with their middle-generation parents (N= 142).

Results

Three-level multilevel models revealed that (a) grandsons who lost a grandmother reported significantly fewer grief symptoms than all other gender combinations; (b) worry about a middle-generation parent was associated with higher grief symptoms, but; (c) this effect was significantly stronger when the middle-generation parent was a mother, and when adult grandchildren were coresident with that bereaved parent. Finally, relationship quality with the middle-generation parent was not associated with grief symptoms, irrespective of context.

Conclusion

Results highlight the intersection of emotional and structural aspects of multigenerational relationships following the death of a family member.

Financial Socialization: A Decade in Review

The financial socialization individuals receive is associated not only with their future financial wellbeing but also relational, mental, and physical wellbeing. This paper is a review of the literature on financial socialization, especially papers published between 2010 and 2019 in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues. We first review family financial socialization theory and then review empirical documentation for the theory, organized by (a) family socialization processes (e.g., parent financial modeling, parent-child financial discussion, and experiential learning as three primary methods of financial socialization) and (b) financial socialization outcomes (e.g., financial attitudes, financial knowledge, financial behaviors, and financial wellbeing). Finally, we discuss future directions for the field.

Mothers, Fathers, Daughters, and Sons: Gender Differences in Adults' Intergenerational Ties

Women are more involved in family ties than men, but these differences may vary across generations as gender roles have shifted. We know little about gender patterns across generations in the same family, however. To address this gap, midlife men and women aged 40-60 (n = 633) from the Family Exchanges Study reported on relationships with each aging parent and each grown child. Mothers were more involved (e.g., more frequent contact, greater positive and negative relationship qualities, and more frequent support exchanges) than fathers in both generations, with parental gender differences stronger in the older generation. Offspring gender differences were generally consistent across generations, with daughters more involved by phone in emotional forms of support, and in negative relationship quality; these gender differences were stronger in the younger generation than the older ones. We discuss pervasive gender differences that favor mothers, as well as shifts in gender differences across generations.

The Other Student Debt Crisis: How Borrowing to Pay for a Child's College Education Relates to Parents' Mental Health at Midlife

OBJECTIVES

More parents are borrowing to help their children pay for college. These loans may be a source of financial stress and worry, which could influence parents' mental health. We determine whether child-related educational debt is associated with worse mental health among parents and if fathers are more sensitive to this debt than mothers, given potential gender differences in financial decision-making and relationships with adult children.

METHOD

Data come from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, a nationally representative sample of persons born between 1957 and 1964. We used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Short Form-12 Mental Health Component Score to assess mental health. We restricted our sample to parents who had at least one biological child attend college and who were interviewed at age 50, when mental health was assessed (n = 3,545).

RESULTS

Among fathers, having any child-related educational debt versus none was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, but having greater amounts of child-related educational debt was associated with more depressive symptoms and worse mental health. No relationship was found for mothers.

DISCUSSION

Our findings indicate that the student debt crisis may also have mental health implications for aging parents, particularly for fathers.

Typology of parent-child ties within families: Associations with psychological well-being

Middle-aged adults often have relationships with multiple family members (e.g., children and parents). The constellation of parent-child relationships within families may have implications for individuals' psychological well-being. This study created typologies of parent-child ties by combining multiple dimensions of relationships and examined the extent to which middle-aged adults showed variability across typologies of parent-child ties within multigenerational families. Using 2,252 parent-child ties across three generations from 633 middle-aged adults, this study identified typologies of parent-child ties based on 5 indicators (i.e., contact, downward and upward support, and positive and negative relationship qualities), and examined the associations of specific typologies of parent-child ties as well as within-family variability in typologies with middle-aged adults' psychological well-being. This study found 7 types of parent-child ties as distinct combinations of contact, support exchanges, and relationship quality. Within-family variability in these types was associated with more depressive symptoms, and having types characterized by conflicted ties was associated with more depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction. Middle-aged adults seem to be happiest when they are able to maintain homogeneous, harmonious patterns of relationships with their parents and grown children. Findings were discussed with regard to factors that also may predict greater variability in family relationship patterns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Aging Parents' and Middle-Aged Children's Evaluations of Parents' Disability and Life Problems

This study examined discrepancies in aging parents' and middle-aged children's evaluations of aging parents' problems and how these discrepancies were associated with relationship characteristics. Using data from the Family Exchanges Study (dyad N = 331 ), discrepancies in the parents' disabilities and life problems reported by parents and their offspring were examined. Children reported a greater number of disabilities and life problems in their parents' lives than parents did. The discrepancy in the number of disabilities was associated with the frequency of phone contact, but not the frequency of in-person contact between generations. Findings confirm the gap in the evaluations of parents' problems between generations, indicating that children may overestimate their parents' problems, whereas parents may underreport their own problems. Frequent phone calls between aging parents and middle-aged children seem to play a positive role in conveying aging parents' problems. The gap in knowledge of parents' problems may lead to unmet needs and/or undesirable support exchanges between parents and offspring. Future research needs to consider both generations' reports and to develop reliable methods to assess parents' problems.

Adolescent Intergenerational Relationship Dynamics and Leaving and Returning to the Parental Home

OBJECTIVE

Drawing on the life course perspective and theoretical models of intergenerational solidarity, this research explores how adolescent-parent relationships (i.e., parent-child closeness, parental attentiveness, family routines, and parenting styles) are associated with young adults' transitions to adulthood.

BACKGROUND

The study adds to the growing literature on adolescents' leaving and returning to the parental home by focusing on parent-child relationships and variations across gendered parent-child dyads.

METHOD

Based on data spanning nearly 2 decades from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 5,201), event history analysis was employed to assess how intergenerational family dynamics correlate with young adults' risk of leaving (n = 4,519) and returning to (n = 2,749) the parental home.

RESULTS

The results indicate that, net of individual, household, and other contextual factors, parent-child closeness is significantly and positively associated with leaving the parental home. This suggests that close parent-child relationships can help launch children into adulthood. Looking at returns to the parental home, closeness becomes significant for daughters only and is moderated by parent gender. In addition, measures of parenting style indicate a significant and negative association between more-passive styles and children's return to the parental home.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight the need to more closely consider the impact of gender and parent-child relationship dynamics in facilitating young adults' transition to adulthood.

Does Empathy Have a Cost? Older Adults and Social Partners Experiencing Problems

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Empathy underlies older adults' awareness and responses to their social partners' needs, but it is unclear whether such awareness is beneficial or harmful to older adults' well-being. We examined whether older adults' empathy was associated with having encounters with social partners incurring problems and their own well-being throughout the day.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Participants were adults aged more than 65 years from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study. These older adults (n = 313) rated empathy and indicated social partners' problems (e.g., health, emotional, and financial problems) in a baseline interview. They also reported encounters with social partners and their mood every 3 hr over 5-6 days.

RESULTS

Multiple regressions showed that more empathic older adults reported a greater proportion of social partners with major life problems than less empathic older adults. Older adults' empathy was not associated with their contact or negative encounters with social partners experiencing problems. Multilevel models revealed that encounters with these social partners had negative consequences for older adults' mood throughout the day; however, these consequences were reduced in more empathic older adults.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

This study emphasizes the importance of empathy in late life and refines our understanding of older adults' social lives and well-being. Findings carry implications for interventions that aim to protect older adults' well-being when their close others incur crises.

The Structure and Determinants of Intergenerational Support Exchange Flows in an Eastern European Setting

Although the provision, receipt, and bidirectionality of support exchanges are important for generational well-being, our understanding of them is lacking in Eastern Europe, a region undergoing swift population aging and social change. This study links intergenerational support exchanges to determinants in Romania, with a focus on proximity of adult children. Data are from the Romanian Aging and Migration Survey (N = 1,398). Analyses involve two stages. First, latent class analysis (LCA) is conducted to develop an intergenerational support typology. The second uses the typology as a dependent variable in multivariate equations predicting exchange determinants. LCA analysis yielded six propensity classes. Physical distance strongly predicts class membership. Having coresident adult children increases the likelihood of bidirectional exchange. Having an international migrant adult child reduces the chances, even with coresident adult children present. International migrant children lead to a higher probability of being a nonexchanger or receiving monetary support. There is a need for continued consideration of bidirectional exchange models in rapidly developing contexts.

Middle-Aged Children's Support for Parents-In-Law and Marital Satisfaction

This study investigated the dissimilarity in midlife adults' reports of support they and their spouse provide to their parents-in-law, gender differences in these dissimilarity patterns, and implications of this dissimilarity for marital quality. Middle-aged married participants (n = 164, mean age = 53.96 years) from Wave 2 of the Family Exchanges Study reported on the support they and their spouse provided to at least 1 living parent-in-law. Regression models examined associations of marital satisfaction with support for parents-in-law, evaluations of support for parents-in-law, and spousal dissimilarity in support. Gender differences in own and spousal support for parents-in-law revealed matrilineal focused support among married adults. Spousal dissimilarity in support was negatively associated with marital satisfaction for middle-aged adults. This pattern suggests the importance of a perceived balance in supporting one's spouse's parents for marital quality.

Who Initiates the Help Older Parents Give to Midlife Children

OBJECTIVES

Older parents continue to help children after these children have been adults for decades. We utilize a typology approach to assess who initiates the help. We ask whether profiles of help initiation are associated with how often older parents help and how they evaluate their helping behaviors.

METHODS

Older parents (N = 241; Mage = 80.12) indicated the extent to which they volunteered to help children and helped per child's request. Parents reported their resources and obligation to help, child problems, frequency, and evaluation (rewards/stresses) of helping.

RESULTS

Latent profile analysis reveals four profiles representing parents who are initiators (n = 65), responders (n = 56), initiators/responders (n = 50), and uninvolved (n = 69). Resources, needs, and individual beliefs differentiate profiles. Parents offer the same amount of help regardless of who initiates such help. Parents who are initiators/responders view helping as more rewarding than parents who are initiators and more stressful than uninvolved parents.

DISCUSSION

This study reveals variation in the initiation of older parents' help and refines our understanding of family help in late life. Findings may suggest a parental expectation for children to be competent in adulthood regardless of their resources and willingness to help.